A Hunter's Live
by crazy james
Summary: Brick Strum, number 42 in the most dangerous bounty hunters of the Galaxy, captain of one of the only three Hunter Crews on the galaxy, a human, native to the Sol System in the unknown regions of the galaxy, only person alive to use physical bullets rather than laser weapons. Why not follow the story of him and his crew?
1. Chapter 1

**Galaxy's most dangerous creatures, entry number seven in the list.**

_Little is known of the origins of human beings, as it is something they guard jealously, all we know is that their race, following the trend by which they name everything registered by their brand of science, the Homo Sapiens Sapiens, has been around for at least a hundred millennia._

_Hailing of the Planet Earth, in the Sol System in the Unknown regions of the Galaxy, humans started moving to other planets when their population reached the ten billion, colonizers have since mixed with other compatible species1, somehow all the human genes come out on top, only ten percent of the non-human parent's genes can be found in a baby._

_The main dangers of crossing a human become apparent when one is running away from them, as a human can last eleven days without sleeping before dying, and their walking speed is topped at ten kilometres an hour, and are able to triple, sometimes quadruple that speed when going at their fastest, though running rapidly drains their stamina._

_An hour of sleep is enough for a human to keep moving for ten hours, their optimal four hours gives them three times that._

_Another thing to be noted is that while uncommon in this times of energy weapons, humans of the past often dipped their projectiles in their spit before putting them in their clips, for it is a well known fact all over that human saliva is unlikely not to infect a wound it touches, only wookies and hutts are exempt from this effect. Currently, human saliva is widely used by bounty hunters and capture squads for immobilizing a target._

_In the same topic, humans are also the most creative minds in the galaxy, not the smartest, but human children question what they learn, wanting to know why they do so and trying to understand what happens when things are not done in the conventional way. A human scientist was the leader of the mandalorian armour development._

_Another human strength is that unlike many other species they do not go into shuck unless they are hit on a lethal, soft spot, this is to say their heart, lungs, stomach or kidney. Broken bones, flesh wounds, infections and poisoning, all are things a human can deal with, if given the right equipment, a rigid piece of wood or stone can serve them for setting a bone, while plants, if they prepare them correctly their stomach can digest herbs to create antidotes and medicines._

_Recreational activities of humans include ingestion of alcohol in doses of 0.25 in their bloodstream, this is enough to normally leave them without proper motor skills, so if one is planning to assassinate a human the best time to do it is when they are inebriated_

_Also a recreational activity is the consumption of smokes, this is done by either inhaling burning tobacco, cannabis or other dried plants, each plant smoked has a different effect on humans._

_There are rumours that on Earth one can find several clubs dedicated to fist fighting, some of them transmitting around the globe._

_As any other creature, humans have weaknesses: the main one mentioned above, another one is that their civilians for the most part rely on military forces to keep them safe, though not all civilians are defenceless, they are prone to addictions, the females are in a constant state of hormonal change and the males are hormone driven, their children, though it was a standard month longer not five millennia ago, are defenceless for their first week._

_A human's reflexes are not anything to scoff at, even though they are not within the top thirty in speed reactions. They are able to hit a ball the size of an adult's fist when it is moving at 150 kilometres an hour._

_It has been noted that while not recommended, a human approaching the age of ten can still be trained in the ways of the force, despite the fact that the current head of the jedi council, master Yoda, does not like taking children over the age of three for other species, outright refusing some when they reach the age of seven._

_There are human methods of achieving emotionlessness, though it is generally agreed that to use them on a child of any specie is one of the worst things to do, and legal only in Hutt territories, where slavery is still practiced publicly._

_Footnote 1: humans are compatible with most humanoid mammals, twi'leks and zabraks have made their sub-species when breeding with humans, and there is a coruscantian life form that evolved from selective breeding with attractive humans._

_(A human named Brick Strum is the number 42 in the most dangerous bounty hunters, Jango Fett, the mandalorian, number 1 in the list, has made comments that he prefers working with him and his crew than with Cad Bane, number 2 in the list)_


	2. Chapter 2

***Sol System, Uncharted territories*1750hrs local time*2000hrs standard time***

"This is Brick Strum, captain of the Dusk Bringer, asking for permission to board the Flagship Odin" The system surrounded by the strongest human fleet, headed by the most advanced, best armed ship in the galaxy, the reason why the mandalorian wars, then later the republic vs. Revan war, had not even touched planet Earth.

"State your business, Strum, or give the proper landing coded" the radio operator on board of The Odin transmitted.

"The Trade Federation leader hired me to tell the UN leaders that he wanted a meeting, and I also want to cash in a bounty on Honka'tis, the twil'ek that infiltrated the system last standard month."

"You can board The Odin, Strum, but your non-human crew must stay on your ship at all times," The General of the Odin swapped places with the radio operator, the ologram going from a slightly round face to a diamond shaped one, "a twi'lek, a zabrak, a wookie, a togruta, a nautolan, a zeltron and one droid have to stay, the two humans with you can come"

"Understood General, but my ship is not getting near yours, I'm going to board in a fighter," Brick smirked at the hologram as it showed discomfort.

"Very well, I assume then, that the droid will be on it," the General said.

"Aye, a TD-R4, trusty thing, though it can't do anything but repairs," The transmission ended.

"Which one are you taking?" The togruta asked, she was red, like most of her people, and her lekku reached her waist, and the horns on her head were a foot long, getting her total height to 2 m.

"I'm taking the dart, she's our fastest," Brick was very image of the human warrior, 1.80 m, his height making him look as if he had less muscle than he actually did, all of it was hid during combat by his mercenary armor.

"Think Tronk has it ready?" Tronk was the wookie and engineer of the crew, the tallest of them all standing at 2.50 m, he never went anywhere without his bowcaster and fusion cutter, and he had figured out how to make the engine run fully on hydrogen or methane, depending on the system and route.

"He always does, I wouldn't have hired him if he was not, you know that Niteko," All of the crew had been hired at first, and then just stayed with Brick, liking it better than hunting alone.

"Yes, you have mentioned that you only travel with us because of our talents," Niteko was the best pilot of the crew, she had made the cockpit of the Dusk Bringer her personal quarters, and it was because of her that they had yet to make a serious repair to the ship.

"Oi, Brick, you taking off or what?" the twi'lek of the crew, also the navigator and planer, she was 1.68, making her the second shortest, purple, lean, and easily the smartest of them all, her lekku reaching to just under her chest, giving her the thinking capacity to plan a perfect attack route in seconds.

"Right, Amela, plan a slingshot, I want to get out of the system as soon as possible," The twi'lek nodded and set herself to work on the navigation computer.

The Dusk Bringer was not a large ship, divided in living quarters; which included a kitchen and dining room, cockpit, training area; this included an obstacle course and a shooting range, hangar; where the four space fighters were, and the cargo hold in the belly of ship, accessible only by the kitchen or a trapdoor on the underside.

"Ryakki, I'm taking the Dart, magnetize everything else, and keep her magnets ready, we're doing a slingshot out of here," the wookie said something in his native language, "It's not that I don't trust my specie, but you have to remember that military intelligence is an oxymoron," A laughing statement, "It applies to every being."

The dart was shaped like its namesake, a long, thin nose, the pilot position just wide enough for Niteko to sit a bit hunched, its fins were long, two meters each near the engine, which was able to produce enough thrust for three minutes in the hyperspace before it ran out of fuel.

This did not mean that it was defenseless, as it had a laser cannon at the nose, its rate of fire as fast as common infantry assault rifle, making it the perfect fighter for chasing a target.

Booting up the fighter, Brick shot off the hangar of the Dusk Bringer at a speed most would be surprised for a human to fly at. The human eyes, after all, got tunnel vision at a mere 150 kilometers an hour.

It was a quick flight, little more than a minute, just enough time to admire the enormity of the capital class space station, large enough that it did not need magnets for the repair robots and personnel. Holding thirty eight landing bays along its equator, the Odin was roughly circular in shape, with a hundred times more firepower than a normal capital ship.

It was visible at night from Earth, a single star as visible as Mars, twice as far from the Third Rock.

"D-459, land in hangar 28, it is the closest to bridge," Came the order, and Brick did not hesitate, doing a maneuver and landing with the nose pointing outwards.

"Who's taking me to the General, the Trade Federation wants me to deliver the message before the Naboo year is done" A single soldier clad in a green armor with yellow stripes stepped forwards "Sargent."

"Roger Davis, British Airborne Division," The soldier, head covered by the helmet/HUD device, "General Patton tasked me to take you to the bridge."

"Then let's go, I still gotta cash that bounty," Brick, like a true hunter was already assessing every possible way out, the threat level around him, and whether or not he could get away with taking a hostage on his way out.

"General Patton said that you can cash it in with him, as long as you have the head, sir," Davis said, his finger near the trigger of his rifle.

"Something on your mind, Davis?" Brick asked the soldier after some uncomfortable moments of silence.

"Sorry sir, but I was wondering…" Davis trailed off, continuing only after Brick waved him on, "I was wondering why a bounty hunter of your caliber would travel in a group, I mean, I understand why you would want a twi'lek or a zeltron, but it is odd for a bounty hunters to travel in groups for more than one job."

"First of Davis, if you dare talk about my crew as if they were animals or toys then I will make sure that you live a life with terminal pain," Davis clutched his rifle tighter, "Second, I have a member of specie nine and ten in the ten most dangerous, zabrak and wookie, the perfect seductress, zeltron, the smartest woman in the galaxy, according to me, a twi'lek, a venomous togruta, a force using nautolan, and two humans, a telekinetic one and a sharpshooter of Mandalo," Brick smiled dangerously, "Want to tell me something is wrong with my crew?"

"No, sir, sorry for the disrespect," the rest of the trek was spent silence.

"Brick Strum, number thirty eight most successful bounty hunter, Jango Fett, the number one in the list, has expressed that you and your crew are the most organized he has seen, and that your teamwork makes up for what you do not have in fire power, and now you have business with the UN, so, what brings you here?"

Brick raised his left hand, "Connect to the cargo bay, show them Honka'tis, the corpse," the hologram distorted the color of the corpse, but one could not deny that the twi'lek, once green, now was a pale color, paler than what the usual hologram did, "I'll take my cash first, unless you want me to drop the corpse from the bay so you can pick it up."

"Not needed Strum, just take this," Patton handed Brick a card, "Fifteen thousand standard credits in it, I suppose you have an exchange terminal in your ship," All hunters did, even the rookie ones, never know when someone paid in cards rather than cash.

"Next, the leader of the Trade Federation wants to know if you would like to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems, even though Earth is an independent body with no ties to the Republic," Brick fished something out of his robes, briefly showing the armor he had underneath, "here's the holocron he gave me, I'm out, unless you want to hire me to deliver the answer?"

The General shook his head and waved him away, "I will send a courier of my own, first to the UN, then to them, you are free to go Strum, do whatever you want with the twi'lek's body, I don't care," Brick nodded and left the dark bridge, Davis trailing behind him. Ten minutes later he was back on the Dusk Bringer.

"The Dart is magnetized in, we're moving, set course to Courscant, I believe Master Yoda wanted to talk about Stax, can't let Master Fisto's brother be a bounty hunter after all," They went past Jupiter, using its pull to get them out of the Sol system.

"My brother and I have different morals; he believes in justice, I believe in money," the Nuetolan was green in color, standing ten cm shorter than Brick, his sensory tentacles never stayed still, always giving something away, or finding it, "He was taken, my parents did not want the same for me"

"Yes, you've told us before, Stax, we lost count already" the Zeltron of the crew was pink, with purple eyes, but her pheromones made her the most attractive on board, but she was only 1.59 m, making her the shortest too.

"Do not antagonize him Aela, he is a force user," the Mandalorian merc came into the cockpit, standing at 1.78 m, with twin disruptor repeaters strapped to his waist, short brown hair covering his scalp, "Sugi and Lydia are in the shooting range," the Mandalo sat himself next to Niteko.

"Do not touch the computer," Niteko said to him, "I don't want any trouble until we're out of the system."

"She can still throw you out the window Loki," the zabrak, Sugi, all 1.83 m of her, leaned on the blast door's frame, "where are we going after Courscant?"

"1313, see if there is any job, if not we go to Tattooine, see if the Hutt have any job, otherwise free some slaves," The captain of the Dusk yawned, "Set the auto pilot Niteko, tomorrow is a busy day, everyone else to sleep now, I want us at our best for sector 1313."

"Understood Cap, understood"

_Encyclopedia Galactica, Atmospheres_

_Of the nearing to a billion planets of the galaxy, only a quarter are of an atmosphere type I or II, that is to say, planets that have only oxygen (Type I) or enough oxygen and a low level of pollution (Type II)_

_There are planets, like Coruscan, that on the upper atmosphere there is pure oxygen, but as one goes lower the atmosphere starts getting thinner on oxygen and thicker with non-breathable gases. Once one reaches sector 1465, the atmosphere is the same as a type IV planet._

_Of the quarter billion planets in the galaxy with breathable atmospheres, only a third of that has a type one atmosphere, all planets in which life is indigenous, and some like Kamino._


	3. Chapter 3

***Space*1240 standard hours***

People usually believed that in space you had an instrument that kept you level with a planets horizon. The people that believed this were wrong and usually never left their planet.

Since there was no gravity in the vacuum, the instruments that, when flying above a planet, kept the belly of the ships towards the surface were useless. Therefore, dogfights, space battles and station attacks were usually staged with two different perspectives, each side thinking that the other was upside down.

Sometimes the fighter pilots saw each other's faces when maneuvering.

Another common misconception was that only Jedi and Republic enforcers ever tried attacking bounty hunters and pirates.

There was no syndicate for bounty hunters, it was a backstabbing trade, where the man you worked with a standard month ago would kill you when hired for it, without a hint of remorse.

The best two at the trade were the Mandalorian Jango Fett and the Duross Cad Bane, both of whom were constantly struggling to outdo one another, constantly getting in fights in the outer rim whenever there was a first come first served bounty.

Brick Strum, Lydia Mountdweller and David Armstrong the humans, Alema'merso the twi'lek, Niteko the togruta, Tronk the wookie, Stax Fisto the Nuetolan, Aela the zeltron and Sugi the Zabrak were one of the only three bounty hunter crews in the galaxy, and the only one with mixed species. Not only that but before they joined up they were all part of the top fifty hunters, low in the ranking, but still in it.

It was the fifty hunters in this list that received the most attention, both by the Republic enforcers and other hunters, though mostly overconfident rookies and way over their heads, ending up death before their career took off.

Space pirates were another thing altogether, this had the most-wanted list and this actually worked with crews, though it was still a very cutthroat trade, one where the life expectancy was half the usual of a civilian for any given specie.

Pirates concentrated mostly in crimes; kidnapping, ransoming, slave trading, the occasional planetary blockade when it was a fleet rather than a single spaceship. The Hutt slave ring relied on pirates for getting them merchandise. Trandoshians more often than not were the ones that formed pirate crews.

The Unknown regions and the outer rim had the highest number of pirate crews, since the influence of the core worlds, and through them the enforcers, was little.

Capital Class space ships did not have to deal with this problem, as they had enough firepower do destroy an asteroid. Space Frigates were also able to deal with the problem, especially the fastest ones, thanks to auto-turrets.

Space Brigs were less suited for that kind of thing, take the Dusk Bringer, which had one frontal canon, a belly cannon, a fin cannon and a tail cannon, while better armed than space bomber, it still needed help from fighters, which were The Dart, The Swallow, The Squid and The Hawk, when dealing with something bigger than a fighter squad.

The crew was lucky enough not to come by anything but a couple of runners on their way to Coruscant, but it was not so surprising, as halfway there they entered the Corelian Trade Spine, one of the many trade routes around the galaxy. From there one it was smooth sailing, and they arrived to the space around Coruscant just as the sun set over the part of the planet that housed the Jedi Temple/Council.

They would have to wait until standard morning to go down to the surface

* * *

***Jedi Temple*1000 standard hours***

Jedi temple was one of the three tallest buildings in Level 1; the Senate Building and the Interplanetary Trade Federation HQ were just as big.

The Dusk Bringer landed in one of the only bays the temple had, its three wings folding forwards and the landing gear opening.

"It is good to see you again brother," Jedi Knight Fisto, along with one of the elderly Masters, Qui-Gon Gin, and his padawan, was there to greet the crew as they landed.

"Likewise Kit, I just hope you won't try to force me to join you order," the older, by three years, Nuetolan smiled and hugged his younger brother.

"I wouldn't try, you always were the impulsive one," Kit looked at the head tails on his brother, "They've grown, and they look stronger," he said.

"Of course they are, Aela and I can both use pheromones for communication, and Amela, Niteko and I can use them when we don't want the Cap to know something," Stax explained.

"Not that it works every time, I'm captain for a reason, knowledge of twelve verbal languages, three bodily ones, and one based in around dancing," Brick stepped up to Stax, "But since you're the second in command I let you get away with this stuff," Stax sighed, so Brick stepped up to Qui-Gon Gin, leaving the brothers to talk.

"Strum, it has been a while," The old master said, "I see you still have the blade you crafted," the young padawan by Qui-Gon's side looked curiously at the hunter's belt.

"He has a light saber, why?" the teen asked him.

"While agreed that only a Jedi can use a light saber, or variants, to its utmost potential, Stax is a force using man, he can keep himself by being dismembered," Brick said, "And since I was one of the best swordsmen on Earth before I started chasing bounties, I have two vibroblades myself, for when I can't use either my blasters nor my wrist shooters"

"But shouldn't he be an acolyte then?" the padawan asked again.

"While he does have an above average midi-chlorian count, and he knows how to manipulate the Force," Brick explained, "Stax is a free spirit, he likes roaming the galaxy, and he would not like to be tied down anywhere, none of us would."

"Young Strum is a bounty hunter, the captain of the crew where Kit's brother works, all of them started young, a few years older than what you are now, seventeen standard, I believe," Strum nodded, "all of them are in their early twenties, but they are some of the best."

"And we will only climb higher now, until all of us are better than Jango Fett," The Zabrak of the crew cut into the conversation, "And our name will go in history."

"Ambitious, as long as you keep in mind that you may not live past fifty standard" Qui-Gon said, "Unless you allow Kaminoans to work on you."

"No, not kaminoan manipulation," Brick said adamantly, "For genetic manipulation go to Earth, for cloning to Kamino," The crew sighed and rolled their eyes, "The scientists back on my birth planet have every genome figured out, I could pull strings and give us an extra fifty years."

"Useless as it would be, we're bounty hunters, the point of our work is the thrill of the fights, living quick and dying before we start being useless," Aela said, hugging her captain from behind, "Though never looking a day past twenty five would be good."

"You keep interesting company, Strum," Qui-Gon whacked his student in the back on the head he noticed that the boy was staring at the zeltron, snapping the boy out of a trance.

"Travel a day with us and you'll not get out sane," Lydia, a brunette that stood a bit over 1.60 meters, she was Brick's cousin, they had grown up together, "We're the most peculiar crew you'll ever encounter."

"Very well, come now, Master Yoda will be waiting," Qui-Gon started to walk away, and the whole time Stax and Kit did not stop talking to each other.

* * *

***Jedi council chambers*twenty minutes later***

"This session started is, about young Stax, talk we will," Master Yoda was what humans thought Martians would be like when Mars was still habitable, "A Jedi he cannot be, but The Force he can use"

"And I don't want to stay here in Coruscant, I'm a free spirit, and I want to have a child," Stax was standing in the middle of the council, everyone else from the Dusk Bringer was sitting outside the hall, "Seriously, your creed is too restrictive."

"In place, for a reason, it is," Yoda said in a slight scolding tone, "To anger, love may lead, to hate, anger leads, and to the Dark Side, hate leads."

"Yes, but I don't hate anything, and it's not like I abuse The Force, I only use it in combat, and to save everyone's ass," Stax ran a hand through his head tails, "Look, Cap and I have reached an agreement, he has a weapon loaded with the deadliest poison that can be delivered to my species, should I ever turn against the morals we have, then he will use it."

"That still leaves us with the problem of a Force user running around unchecked," Master Ki-Adi Mudi said, half the council, even the ones that were currently holograms, nodding in agreement, "Not when we know that you are one."

"Look, if you want to keep track of me then do it, it's not like I don't want a reputation, but there is no way in Mustafar that I am staying grounded in Coruscant, not even if you pay me."

"Then a Knight to you, perhaps, we could assign"

One of the councilmen looked scandalized, "Master, you can't be serious, I agree that this bounty hunter needs to be tracked, but the last padawan that moved on to being a knight was given his title only a year ago, and all experienced ones have a padawan right now, even Watser," Let it be known that Watser was one of the middle generation of current knights, and he was not one that followed authority, so he was a assigned a padwan just like him.

"If I may make a suggestion," a green, very old looking man, member of the few botanical, self-propelled sentient species, "Why not assign a Jedi repair droid to them, that way his crew…"

"Not mine, Brick's"

"…Can benefit, rather than their reputation suffering from having a Jedi with them, if your captain signs a contract from us saying that he will not dump the repair droid to space, the droid itself serving as compensation, some credits so they can modify it if they want, and also a clause saying they accept the droid to send their location once a fortnight."

"I like that better than making one of our knights the mission to follow them, bring your Captain in," Dooku said.

Two minutes later Stax had not moved an inch, yet Brick came in. It was bloody useful having two crewmembers that knew how to speak through pheromones.

"Right, Aela said that you had something to try and sell to me," no one missed how his hands, crossed, were dangerously close to his waist.

So they explained what they wanted him to sign, and after a lot of negotiation, the only thing that the Jedi council managed was that the Captain of the Dusk Bringer would take the core of their most unruly astrodroid, which would then be used as the central stone of a droid that would both serve as a battle droid and as a protocol droid, reporting the position of the ship once a week.

They did receive, however, the assurance that if they ever needed the help of the Dusk Bringer, they would get it with a 90% discount, as long as Kit Fisto remained a Jedi, or as long as they were not hired to commit a crime that went against the morals of the crew.

It was safe to say that, while some of the Jedi Council were not totally happy with the situation, it was definitely better than having the brother of one of their most promising Jedi, a brother that could also use the force, though not to the extent that Kit could, running around and possibly spreading rumors about the Jedi order.

As long as the younger Fisto did not use the Force in simple things like moving a drink from the other side of the room to him, then none of them were concerned, because they were sure that they could keep track of the most promising crew of bounty hunters of the Modern Republic era.


End file.
